Secret Service employee sent home from Israel after a 'physical encounter'

JERUSALEM — A U.S. Secret Service employee working on President Joe Biden's trip to Israel was briefly detained after a "physical encounter" there and has been sent back to the United States.

The incident occurred late Monday, ahead of Biden's arrival in Israel on Wednesday. The employee was detained and questioned by Israeli police, who released him without charges, a Secret Service spokesperson said.

"In accordance with agency protocol, his access to Secret Service systems and facilities was suspended pending further investigation," the spokesperson said.

The incident occurred after the agent and other personnel went to dinner and were returning to their hotel, according to a person familiar with the matter. A woman alleged she was physically assaulted in an incident on the street and local police were called, the person said. 

The incident didn’t involve any allegations of sexual assault, and it is not known if alcohol was involved, the person said.

During Biden's May trip to South Korea, two Secret Service employees were sent back to the U.S. and placed on administrative leave after they were allegedly involved in an off-duty incident, the agency said Friday.

South Korean police told NBC News at the time that a member of Biden’s security unit “engaged in violence” against a local man near the Grand Hyatt Seoul, where the president was set to stay during his first presidential trip to Asia.